From Nihon Keizai Shimbun/Asahi Shimbun, web editions, 23 September 2011
Mitsubishi Heavy Industry and JAXA has launched the 19th unit of heavy lifter H2A carrying the Japanese government’s information gathering satellite Kogaku #4 on 1:36pm, 23 September (JST) from Tanegashima Space Center. The satellite was separated from the rocket and put into planned orbit and the launch was evaluated as successful. H2A has marked 13 consecutive launches without failure.
The new satellite is designed to monitor military installations in North Korea as well as large scale natural calamity by orbiting about 500km distance from the surface. It is equipped telescope and high end digital camera and will replaces the second unit of optical recognisance satellite whose designed life of five yeas had expired.
Japan plans to operate a combination of optical reconnaissance satellites and radar satellites. Current three units are all optical information gathering satellites and two of the three have already passed designed longevity. By launching a new generation of satellites, two optical and two radar equipped, Japan would obtain a new capabilities to monitor any selected place on the surface at least once a day, regardless of time and the weather.
Capabilities of the new optical satellite is classified but it may identify an object on the surface as small as 60cm.
Launching of indigenous information gathering satellites was initiated in 1998 after a missile launch over Japan by North Korea.
